Manure railroading

[altivo]

In winter we compost manure from the barns along the fences in the pasture. The midline fence in particular has always had deep grooves on both sides where the previous owners' horses used to pace up and down. We keep hoping to level that off, but so far it still shows. Additional factor: at this time of year, it gets very dark quite early in the day, like 4:15 to 4:30 pm.

So, I did all my barn chores and decided that I should not leave a wheelbarrow full of you-know-what for Gary to empty tomorrow, since he will be short on time anyway due to a dentist visit. Even though it was after 5 pm and quite dark, I boldly set out for the pasture with my loaded barrow. We have six or more inches of snow on the ground in most places, and some of it has melted partly and refrozen, so there are ruts like railroad tracks on the usual courses followed by the wheelbarrow. (It's the kind with two big wheels on the sides.)

Fortunately, the moon is nearly full and was just rising high enough to light up the snow brightly, so visibility out in the pitch black wasn't a problem. Nor was following the ruts as long as I paid attention at the "diamonds" and "switches". Yes, it's just like railroad track. The frozen ruts provide a relatively effortless path, but if you get caught at a turnout you can be off on the wrong route in a flash. I decided to make a new shortcut and put in a turn so it would work. Jeez, pushing a hundred pounds of crap through six inches of crunchy snow is hard work, even just for eight feet or so. Eventually the job was done, though, and it's a lot easier pushing an empty wheelbarrow back to the barn, let me tell you.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow did not give quite the luster of mid-day, but it was better than a night light. There were brilliant shadows. Coming back I was facing south and could see Venus and Jupiter in the sky. Jupiter is normally bright, though it will be much brighter in a couple of months as the sun moves to opposition with it. Venus, on the other paw, is close to the extreme distance it reaches from the sun (relative to our viewpoint, anyway) and is absolutely brilliant. If you haven't looked at it, you should.

Comments

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

You got your groove on with that wheelbarrow, that's for sure.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but I got my sh*t together too. ;p

[frith]

I prefer single wheel wheelbarrows, especially when maneuvering through snow.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We find that the dual wheel design has a deeper body and will carry more weight without becoming difficult to manage. It is also more stable, so hitting an unexpected bump is less likely to cause it to tip and spill. I agree it's more cumbersome to maneuver. Some years we have unrolled wooden slat snow fence over the ground to provide a sort of "road" for it to travel over.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I have seen both of these planets lately. They are amazingly bright. I do not remember ever seeing them so bright.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, it does help to have clear weather, usually winter. Neither is abnormally bright, though. Jupiter will increase in brightness for the next three or four months. Venus is at or near maximum now, I'd have to look up the exact peak in the ephemeris. Both move well into negative magnitudes at their brightest. Right now the brilliance of the full moon actually detracts a bit from the spectacle.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Whoops, too early in the morning. Jupiter is declining in brightness, I think. It's brightest when at opposition to the sun.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Aye..the clearness of the night is possibly something to do with it. That and the media bigging up the conjunction.

[shiningriver.livejournal.com]

See, if we look up from the manure of our daily lives, there is amazing beauty for us to see.
5:30 Thursday morning I looked out a west-facing window and saw the bright moon setting through thin clouds and I thought that there are still some wonderful things in this world. In the rush and complication of daily life these things still exist. The stars and moon go on shining.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Indeed. One of the reasons I decided to move out farther from the cities to where, at least occasionally, we get these moments of peace and clarity. ;)

[dar-han.livejournal.com]

Did you see about a few weeks ago? The event even attracted people's attention here : Venus, Jupiter and the moon lined up in the sky, so close to each other people said it was like the moon had hired close bodyguards XP

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We tried to see it but were foiled by dense cloud cover during the two days when that configuration was most visible. That was when we got the first serious snow of the season. :(

[dar-han.livejournal.com]

Aww, too bad. We had the same problem when comet McNaught was visible by the whole Southern Hemisphere, but Madagascar's highlands were constantly under heavy cloud cover...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The story of my life when it comes to astronomical phenomena. I've missed several spectacular comets, a lot of conjunctions, and some remarkable meteor showers because of cloud cover. Then there's the aurora borealis, one of the most glorious and beautiful of the sky spectacles. Visible this far south perhaps once or twice a year, and in my half century of viewing time I've actually been permitted to see it three times. Cloud cover or lack of warning that it was coming account for that.

Of course, living in the Pacific Northwest would be even worse. Living in the desert would improve viewing options for some things but wipe out the aurora.

[dar-han.livejournal.com]

Let's see... I've missed the August 2001 solar eclipse in France due to my uncle deciding that "holidays far south would be fun" at the exact date. Then I missed the June 2002 solar eclipse here in Madagascar on account of not having been here at the time.
Then, I don't remember having ever seen a comet, or even a simple lunar eclipse. I don't think aurora australis will ever reach as far North as I am, and so on...
I saw a meteor shower though. Once. And it was a short one, 12 years ago.

So you're not the only one astronomically unlucky person out there, it seems

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Aww, give it a chance. You're still young. I agree, you won't likely see aurora where you are now, but you seem intent on moving elsewhere and I expect you'll manage that. You do have access to a remarkably star-studded sky that is utterly invisible from here, you know.

Great comets tend to come once a decade or thereabouts. I've had an almost clear view of one. I fully expect to see another before I'm gone. Solar eclipses are harder. Unless you can afford to travel long distances and are willing to do so, you may never catch a total eclipse. Even those who do travel to see them are frequently frustrated by bad viewing conditions. Partial eclipses, though, are frequent enough that you'll have plenty of opportunities. I've seen eight or ten of those.